PADM-GP 2174 The Intersection of Operations and Policy

A Multimedia Learning Experience in the New York City Family Homeless Shelter System

Spring 2019

Instructor Information

Faculty● Warner Fite

○ Email: warner.fite@nyu.edu ○ Office Hours: Email for Appointment○ Office Address: Puck 3rd Floor

● Seth Diamond○ Email: swd2001@nyu.edu○ Office Hours: Email for Appointment

Class Schedule● Location: GCASL 388

● Time: 4:55-8:25pm, seven Tuesdays from 1/29 – 3/12

Course DescriptionPolicy and operations are inextricably linked. This course aims to expose students to policy formation in a highly political environment, operations management of systems shaped by state and local policy, and their intersection, while building a toolbox of specific skills that support analysis and decision making in a wide variety of contexts. A unifying Multimedia Interactive Case Study (MICS) focused on the NYC family homeless shelter system will be the backdrop of this course. This course is an intensive engagement that incorporates perspectives from academic theory, City, State and Federal government, service providers, advocacy organizations, and public interest law.

Course and Learning Objectives

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The course learning objectives fall into eight broad skill-building areas: decision modeling, stakeholder analysis, time-series data decomposition and forecasting, budgeting and financial analysis, negotiation, and policy making in a political context. This course also builds skills in communication, presentations and teamwork.

Multimedia Interactive Case Study PlatformClick here for the multimedia interactive case study platform website. (https://wp.nyu.edu/mics/)

The Multimedia Interactive Case Study (MICS) is an online platform where students engage with both case study resources and interactive tools. While the case study resources are specific to the NYC Homeless Family Shelter System, the skills gained are highly transferable to a large variety of disciplines, including public service management and policy, business, social work, health, and urban planning. The MICS site can be accessed in two ways:

1. From the course site on NYU Classes, you can click on the tab at the left and follow the instructions and link.

2. Directly to the MICS site, which is part of NYU’s WordPress site, at wp.nyu.edu/mics.

In either case, you will be taken to the screen below where you must enter your Net ID (e.g., AAA123) and password. In order to enter the site, you must click on the “Log in with Shibboleth” link rather than the larger (and more intuitive) “Log In” button.

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CASE STUDY RESOURCES

● Video Documentaries (10-15 minutes each) have been created for this course, each

featuring stakeholder interviews, including New York City and New York State officials, advocates, providers, public interest lawyers, families, and academicians. These six documentaries are:

o Family Homelessness Landscape introduces the various stakeholders working in homelessness in NYC.

o Family Homelessness in New York City reviews the problem of family homelessness.

o Advantage: Incarnation & Evolution describes Advantage, its formation and implementation.

o Advantage: Family Experience presents the experiences of families.o Advantage: Termination explains the end of Advantage and the subsequent

impact. o Where do we go from here? provides various perspectives on how to move

forward in family homelessness.

● Budgeting and Financial Analysis features a webinar and presentation detailing the

fiscal particulars of the family homeless shelter system during the Advantage years, the funding mechanisms at play, and the financial implications for the political stakeholders. This section also includes the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) dataset described below.

● Data Visualizations give students a visual introduction to the City’s family homeless

shelter system.

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● News Sources includes articles and video clips pertinent to New York City’s homeless

shelter system and the Advantage Program over the relevant time period, which will build students’ understanding of the different stakeholder perspectives, tension around the issues, and public information.

● Research includes journal articles and reports, relevant to homelessness trends and

policies, which will provide students a broad understanding of research and theoretical perspectives.

● Documents include a variety of original source documents.

● Datasets (found in the Resources section of NYU Classes) will be available to the

students for use in their analyses and exploration of family homelessness. Certain information in the datasets has been provided by City agencies (DHS and OMB) to us on a confidential basis and some of the information is not in the public domain. The datasets are not for use outside of this course and can be found in the resources section

o New York City Department of Homeless Services Family Shelter Census Data, specifically, monthly homeless shelter system data (entrances, exits and census) from July 1, 2008 through December 31, 2013, which spans time under the Advantage policy, the phasing out of Advantage, and more than one full year post-Advantage.

o New York City Office of Management and Budget Financial Data, specifically annual family homelessness spending data for fiscal years 2009 through 2014. This data includes amounts spent for each of the six fiscal years by type of major program together with a breakout of the city, state and federal funding sources for each.

o DHS Critical Activities Reports (CARs) which preceded the present DHS Dashboard reports and which are no longer readily accessible online from the City. CARS reports, which were published until June 30, 2011, contain demographic information on the family shelter population as well as shelter exits, entrances, and monthly population.

INTERACTIVE TOOLS (ACCESSED THROUGH THE MICS SITE)

● Decision Tree Builder is used to construct and analyze a decision tree.

● Stakeholder Analysis Tool (Policy Maker 5) is used to create a stakeholder analysis

table identifying key stakeholders, their policy priorities, influence, resources, and alliances as well as where stakeholders are positioned in terms of their relative importance. It is designed to help you develop strategies to garner support for your preferred policy option. PolicyMaker 5 works best with the Chrome browser and we very strongly recommend that students do not attempt to use other browsers. Unfortunately, if you use other browsers you will not be able to save your work or transfer it from computer to computer.

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● Time-Series Data Analysis and Forecasting in Excel encompasses methods to use

the data analysis and visualization tools in MS Excel that enable experimentation with different time-series forecasting approaches and associated parameters.

Course Requirements and Grading ComponentsFinal grades are determined by the following course components. As the course progresses, the detailed assignments will be posted to the “Assignments” tab of the course site in NYU Classes and completed assignments should be uploaded there. File names should always include the student’s name (or the team number) as well as the assignment name.

● Individual Class Participation (15%).

Participation includes presence, promptness, preparation, and engagement. If you have thoroughly prepared, you should have no problem following and contributing to the discussions. Keep in mind that much of a leader’s communication is verbal, especially in policy and operations settings. Developing your abilities to verbally state and support your positions is an important part of this class, in addition to listening and reflecting on the discourse. Students are expected to attend all classes. The use of electronic devices for purposes other than taking notes is not appropriate and can limit your learning and distract your colleagues.

● Individual Assignments (20%).

There will be three individual assignments (each 5%), associated with a specific learning module (i.e., time series data forecasting, stakeholder analysis, and decision modeling). These individual assignments are important as they lay a foundation for the more sophisticated analysis revolving around the main case of the course. In addition, there will be an individual site visit reflection (5%, up to two pages, double-spaced) on the site visit to DHS’s PATH Intake Center and a family shelter. Students who are unable to attend the site visit will write a reflection on two articles assigned from the MICS site.

● Team Presentation (10%).

Each team will deliver one in-class presentation including analysis and supported recommendations for either the Time-Series Data or Stakeholder Analysis module (as assigned by instructors, each team will prepare a presentation for either Time-Series Data or Stakeholder Analysis and a memo for the other). Following each presentation, there will be a critique and discussion with professors and colleagues. All team members are required to present.

● Team Memo (10%).

Each team will prepare and submit one technical memo addressed to the Assistant Commissioner of Policy, Planning and Evaluation at the NYC Department of Homeless Services (three to five pages, double-spaced, plus exhibits). This memo will present analysis and supported recommendations for either the Time-Series Data or Stakeholder Analysis module (as assigned by instructors, each team will prepare a presentation for

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either Time-Series Data or Stakeholder Analysis and a memo for the other). All supporting analyses should be attached in the appendices to the memo.

● Individual Negotiation Strategy Document (10%).

Teams will represent different stakeholders in the NYC Family Homeless Shelter System (e.g., providers, advocates, the City). Traditionally, the different stakeholders have not worked well together. Nevertheless, the Mayor has called a forum and charged the stakeholders with developing recommendations around family homelessness in NYC. In preparation for the forum, students will individually prepare a negotiation strategy document (no more than four pages, double-spaced), with desired outcomes, expected outcomes, negotiation strategies, and talking points for the particular stakeholder.

● Team Budgeting and Financial Analysis Assignment (10%).

Each team will prepare and present a presentation for the incoming DHS Commissioner highlighting one or more fiscal tradeoffs arising from the budgetary environment and constraints under which DHS operates (four to five pages, double spaced, plus exhibits).

● Team Final Presentation and Team Mayoral Policy Memo (total of 25%).

o Each team will prepare and present a presentation for the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services outlining the current state of the NYC homeless family shelter system, alternatives considered and the team’s recommendation(s) going forward along with supporting arguments.

o Accompanying the Team Final Presentation to the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, teams will submit a memo outlining their recommendations and supporting analysis (10-page, double-spaced, plus appendices).

Prerequisites

Coursework:The required prerequisite courses (waived for EMPA students) are (1) CORE-GP.1020 Managing Public Service Organizations (MPSO) and (2) CORE-GP.1022 Introduction to Public Policy. EMPA students will have completed at least the summer portion of EXEC-GP.1194 Strategic Leadership.

Excel Knowledge:While the quantitative work is generally straightforward, it does presume more than a passing familiarity with Excel. The Time Series Data, Decision Analysis (Decision Trees), Financial Analysis and Final Team Memo assignments will require use of Excel. Expected knowledge includes (but is not limited to) entering data; the general arithmetic functions; using simple formulas (e.g., =AVERAGE, =SUM, =IF, =SUMPRODUCT); formatting; printing with appropriate formatting; and creating professional-standard charts. Some advanced formulas (e.g., =COUNTIF, =AVERAGEIF, =VLOOKUP) will be helpful but are not necessary.

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Microsoft’s Office365, which is available for free with your NYU.edu email address, includes a continually updated version of Excel and is probably the best choice for most students (it also includes Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote). Excel is a universal tool for financial and quantitative analysis and will be part of the coursework and assignments. You do not have to be a seasoned Excel master by any means to do well in this course, but you will find probably find yourself most comfortable if you are able to:

o Use Excel to organize data into well-formatted tables and other reports, and to analyze that data using Excel’s basic calculation functions.

o Create meaningful and informative charts and graphs with strong visual depictions of data and relationships between financial variables.

Students who are unsure of their Excel skills may find that some advance preparation in those areas is worth the effort and will pay off throughout the semester. (Students do not need to become Excel experts before or after the course begins!). There are a number of helpfultutorials on Lynda.com. Lynda.com can be accessed through your NYU logins as follows:

1. go to Lynda.com and clicking “Sign In” in the upper right-hand corner,2. choose the left-side option of “Sign in with your organization portal,” 3. Log in through www.nyu.edu. This will bring up the general NYU login (unless you are

already logged in) and logging in to the NYU system should take you automatically to the specified course on Lynda.com.

These tutorials are likely the most helpful:o Excel 365

o Excel 365 Essential Trainingo Excel 365 for Mac Essential Training

o Excel for Mac 2016o Excel for Mac 2016 Essential Trainingo Excel for Mac 2016: Charts in Depth

o Excel 2016 (Windows)o Excel 2016 Essential Trainingo Excel 2016: Charts in Deptho

The course Teaching Assistant, Adam Gleicher, will be available during the semester for Excel support as well as support on assignments.

Online pre-course surveyThere is a brief online survey (eight questions, two of which are your first and last name) to be completed before the first class session. Please compete the survey by no later than Thursday,

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August 30. The survey can done from either your computer or smartphone. It should take no more than 10 minutes.

Course Readings and MaterialsThe readings for the class will come from the following sources:

1. MICS PlatformThe MICS Platform will contain case study resources and interactive tools.

2. NYU Classes The course site on NYU Classes will be used to post readings and assignments throughout the semester. Students are encouraged to check it frequently. The Resources section of the NYU Classes site contains class discussion slides, worked examples of some of the tools we will be using as well as a number of the readings. Under the “Other Resources and Articles” section there you can also find more recent articles and other material on family homelessness (subsequent to the Bloomberg administration).

3. BookFisher, Roger, William L. Ury, and Bruce Patton. Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. Penguin, 2011.

4. E-BookHyndman, Rob J., and George Athanasopoulos. Forecasting: principles and practice. 2014.

5. E-BookLawrence, Kenneth D., Ronald K. Klimberg, and Sheila M. Lawrence. Fundamentals of forecasting using Excel. Industrial Press Inc., 2009.

6. E-BookHollins, Bill, and Sadie Shinkins. Managing service operations: Design and implementation. Sage, 2006.

E-Books can be accessed for free through the NYU Library (http://library.nyu.edu/) using your NYU Login. Search for the book and follow the Online Access links. All links to E-Books are also available on NYU Classes.

Academic IntegrityAcademic integrity is a vital component of Wagner and NYU. All students enrolled in this class are required to read and abide by Wagner’s Academic Code. All Wagner students have already read and signed the Wagner Academic Oath. Plagiarism of any form will not be tolerated and students in this class are expected to report violations to me. If any student in this class is unsure about what is expected of you and how to abide by the academic code, you should consult with me.

Course Calendar

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1/22 – Deliverable DuePre-course survey

● Click here for the Pre-course Survey

1/25 – Class 1 and Deliverable DueTopics:

● Introduction / Syllabus Review

● NYC Family Homelessness Discussion

● Time-Series Data Introduction

● Advantage Discussion

● Understanding Time-Series Data Webinar

1/30 – Teams Assigned

2/4Assignments Due:

(assigned teams) Time Series Data Presentation Slides (assigned teams) Time Series Data Team Memo

2/5 – Class 2Topics:

● Advantage Discussion

● Time-Series Data Team Presentations

● Forecasting I

● (assigned teams) Time-Series Data Team Presentation

2/8 - PATH and Shelter Site VisitOptional but very highly recommended - approximately 9:00 am - 2:00pm.

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2/10Assignments Due:

● Site Visit Individual Reflection Assignment

2/11Assignments Due:

● Time-Series Forecasting Individual Assignment

2/12 – Class 3Topics:

● Site Visit Debrief

● Forecasting II

● Introduction to Budget and Financial Data

● Stakeholder Analysis Lecture

2/18Assignments Due:

● (assigned teams) Stakeholder Analysis Presentation Slides

● (assigned teams) Stakeholder Analysis Team Memo

2/19 – Class 4Topics:

● Stakeholder Analysis Team Presentations

● Policy Making in a Political Context Discussion

● Capacity Management Lecture & Discussion

Assignments Due:

● Stakeholder Analysis Team Presentation

● Midterm Course Review

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2/24Assignments Due:

● Budgeting and Financial Tradeoffs Team Memo

2/26 – Class 5Topics:

● Decision Modeling Lecture

● Negotiations Discussion & Exercise

Assignments Due:

● Midterm Team Review

3/3Assignments Due:

● Individual Negotiation Strategy Document

3/4Assignments Due:

● Decision Modeling Individual Assignment

3/5 – Class 6Topics:

● Decision Modeling Discussion

● Mayoral Forum: Negotiation around NYC Family Homeless Policy

● Mayoral Forum Debrief

3/11Assignments Due:

● Team Final Presentation Slides

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3/12 – Class 7Topics:

● Final Team Presentations

● Wrap-up

● Guest Speaker

Assignments Due:

● Final Team Presentations

3/24Assignments Due:

● Team Mayoral Policy Memo

● Final Team Reviews

Detailed Course ScheduleClass Session 1 – 1/29

Pre-course Survey

● Due 1/22 – this should take less than 10 minutes

● Click here to take the survey. (you can use your computer or smartphone)

A. Introduction / Syllabus ReviewStudents and professors will share expectations and goals for the class; we will distribute and review the syllabus.

B. New York City Family Homelessness DiscussionLecture and discussion about Family Homelessness, particularly in New York City, which will center on the first two video documentaries of the series.

Preparation

● MICS Platform: Homelessness Stakeholders – “Family Homelessness Landscape” video

● MICS Platform: Family Homelessness – “Family Homelessness in New York City” video

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● MICS Platform: Homelessness Stakeholders - Institute of Children, Poverty, and Homelessness. “A Portrait of Family Homelessness.”

● MICS Platform: Homelessness Stakeholders - The State of Homelessness in America 2013. Washington, DC: National Alliance to End Homelessness, April, 2013. Executive Summary Required; Full Report Optional.

● [Optional] The structure and workings of New York City’s government and its various agencies is a recurring theme throughout the semester. For students who wish to supplement their backgrounds in these topics, Bruce Berg’s New York City Politics: Governing Gotham (New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2007) provides a brief primer. Selected chapters are available in NYU Classes in the Session 1 folder; Chapters 3 and 7 are especially recommended as relevant to the course.

o Chapter 3, The State and the Cityo Chapter 4, The Federal Government and the City, especially

pages 107 to 109 o Chapter 7, The Charter, the Mayor and the Other Guys o Chapter 8, The City Councilo Chapter 9, The Municipal Bureaucracy

C. Understanding Time-Series Data IntroductionUnderstanding data over time – trends, cycles, seasonality – is critical from forecasting, strategic and operational perspectives. We will introduce time-series data in class and a subsequent webinar expands on the topic.

Preparation

● Be sure to have completed your Excel Prerequisites before this class!

● NYU Classes: E-Book – Lawrence, Kenneth D., Ronald K. Klimberg, and Sheila M. Lawrence. Fundamentals of forecasting using Excel. Industrial Press Inc., 2009.

o Chapter 1: Introduction to Forecastingo Sections 2.1-2.4: Summarizing and Displaying Data in Excel, pages 9-21o Chapter 3: Basic Time Series Analysis, Pages 33-56

● NYU Classes: Hyndman, Rob J., and George Athanasopoulos. Forecasting: principles and practice. 2014.

o Sections 1.1 to 1.8: Getting Startedo Section 2.1 to 2.4: Time Series Graphicso Sections 6.1 to 6.3: Time-Series Decomposition

After Class:

NYU Classes: Understanding Time-Series Data Webinar in Session 1 Folder

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D. Advantage DiscussionThere will be a discussion about the incarnation and evolution of the Advantage program centered on the third video documentary in the MICS series.

Preparation

● MICS Platform: Advantage Evolution – “Advantage: Incarnation & Evolution” video

● MICS Platform: Advantage Evolution – Bosman, Julie. “Plan Would Require Homeless to Work to Qualify for Rent Subsidies.” New York Times. April 14, 201

● MICS Platform: Advantage Evolution – “To whose advantage is work advantage?” Institute of Children, Poverty, and Homelessness. September 1, 2011

● MICS Platform: Advantage Evolution – “Fact Sheet: Work Advantage.” Department of Homeless Services

Class Session 2 – 2/5

A. Advantage Discussion ContinuedThere will be a discussion about the incarnation, evolution and termination of the Advantage program, which will be informed by the Decision Modeling MICS presentations.

Preparation

● MICS Platform: Family Experience - Advantage: Family Experience video

● MICS Platform: Advantage Termination – Advantage: Termination video

● MICS Platform: Family Experience - Elliot, Andrea. “Invisible Child: Dasani’s Homeless Life.” The New York Times. December 9, 2013.

● MICS Platform: Family Experience – Harris, Elizabeth, “Where Nearly Half of Pupils Are Homeless, School Aims to Be Teacher, Therapist, Even Santa.” The New York Times. June 6, 2016.

● MICS Platform: Family Experience - Wolfson, Howard and Linda Gibbs, “Bloomberg’s Real Antipoverty Record; Under the Mayor’s 12-Year Tenure, More Than 900,000 New Yorkers Have Moved from Welfare to Work.” Wall Street Journal. December 17, 2013.

● MICS Platform: Advantage Termination – NYC Independent Budget Office. “As Rental Subsidies for Families End, Time in Shelter Grows.” February 23, 2012

● MICS Platform: Advantage Termination – Saul, Michael H. “Homeless Costs Shifted.” Wall Street Journal. March 18, 2013

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● MICS Platform: Advantage Termination – Routhier, G. “Homeless Again: Former Advantage Tenants Adding to Already Record Homelessness in New York City.” Coalition for the Homeless. June 15, 2012.

B. Understanding Time-Series Data MICS PresentationsTeams will present their decomposition of different NYC DHS family homeless shelter data as well as their conclusions.

Deliverables:

Time-Series Data Team Presentation: Slides due 2/4 by 11:55pm via NYU Classes

Time-Series Data Team Memo: Memo due 2/4 by 11:55pm via NYU Classes

C. Forecasting IForecasting encompasses techniques for predicting the future. In this class, students will build off of their understanding of time-series data, learning how and when to use different forecasting methods. Forecasting I will introduce qualitative and quantitative forecasting and apply time series tools to developing predictive models.

Preparation

● NYU Classes: E-Book – Lawrence, Kenneth D., Ronald K. Klimberg, and Sheila M. Lawrence. Fundamentals of forecasting using excel. Industrial Press Inc., 2009.

o Chapter 3: Basic Time Series Analysis excluding Section 3.5

● NYU Classes: Hyndman, Rob J., and George Athanasopoulos. Forecasting: principles and practice. 2014.

o Sections 1/1-1/4 and 1/6: Getting Startedo Section 2/5: Evaluating Forecast Accuracyo Section 6/6: Forecasting with Decompositiono [Optional] Sections 3/1-3/3, 3/6, and 3/8: Judgmental Forecasting

Site Visit – 2/8SITE VISIT (OPTIONAL BUT VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

Site: PATH Center and Homeless Shelter VisitApproximately 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

We will spend the day visiting the PATH (Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing) Center, which is the New York City Department of Homeless Services intake center for homeless families seeking to enter the shelter system. In addition, we will visit a homeless family shelter and have an opportunity to tour it and talk with staff and residents.

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Preparation

● MICS Platform: Family Homelessness – Stewart, Nikita. “Homelessness, Step by Step.” The New York Times. February 18, 2018.

● All previous readings especially MICS Site: Family Experience

Site Visit Reflection Assignment: Due 2/10 by 11:55pm via NYU ClassesStudents who are unable to attend the site visit may write a reflection on these two articles from the MICS site:

● MICS Platform: Family Experience - Elliot, Andrea. “Invisible Child: Dasani’s Homeless Life.” New York Times. December 9, 2013.

● MICS Platform: Family Experience – Harris, Elizabeth, “Where Nearly Half of Pupils Are Homeless, School Aims to Be Teacher, Therapist, Even Santa.” New York Times. June 6, 2016.

Class Session 3 – October 6Deliverables:

● Site Visit Reflection / Alternative Reflection Assignment - Due 2/10 by 11:55 pm via NYU Classes

● Individual Forecasting Assignment - Due 2/11 by 11:55 pm via NYU Classes

A. Site Visit DebriefThe class will share reactions to the site visits and discuss how the visits informed their understanding of the issues.

Preparation

● MICS Platform: Family Experience - Advantage: “Family Experience” video

● MICS Platform: Family Homelessness – “A Theory of Poverty Destabilization: Why Low-income Families Become Homeless in New York City.” Institute for Children, Poverty, & Homelessness. June 2013.

● MICS Platform: Family Experience – Kastenbaum, Steve. “NYC Hit with Huge Wave of Homelessness.” CNN Radio. January 28, 2013

● MICS Platform: Family Homelessness – N. Smith, L. Flores, J. Lin and J. Markovic. “Understanding Family Homelessness in New York City: An In-Depth Study of Families’ Experiences Before and After Shelter.” New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2005.

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B. Forecasting IIForecasting II will introduce a second type of quantitative forecast, a systems-based approach that lends itself to analyzing activities of specified cohorts as they move through a complex system.

Preparation

● NYU Classes – Meadows, Donella H. Thinking in Systems: A Primer. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing (2008), Chapter 1 (pages 11-27 only)

C. Introduction to Financial DataThere will be a discussion about the New York City Office of Management and Budget Financial Data including funding sources for various DHS initiatives.

Preparation

● MICS Platform: Budgeting and Financial Analysis - webinar

● [Optional] MICS Platform: Budgeting and Financial Analysis - NYC Independent Budget Office, “Albany Shifts the Burden – As the Costs of Sheltering the Homeless Rises, Federal & City Funds Are Increasingly Tapped.” October 2015.

● [Optional] MICS Platform: Budgeting and Financial Analysis – NYC Office of the Comptroller. “Audit Report on the Monitoring of the Work Advantage Program by the Department of Homeless Services.” July 15, 2010.

● [Optional] MICS Platform: Budgeting and Financial Analysis – Congressional Research Service. “The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions.” CRS Publication RL32760. July 2015.

● [Optional] NYU Classes – Citizens Budget Commission. “A $3 Billion Problem,

Homeless Swervices in New York City”. May 24, 2018.

D. Stakeholder Analysis LectureStakeholder analysis enables decision makers to identify key influencers and their relative importance. From there, one can develop an appropriate strategy for each of them

Preparation

● MICS Platform: Interactive Tools – Familiarize yourself with PolicyMaker 5 Software (labeled as Stakeholder Analysis) which was designed for the Chrome browser. We cannot recommend strongly enough that students not attempt to use other browsers. We are aware of bugs in other browsers (including an inability to save your work). We have learned that any momentary burden of downloading Chrome is well worth it.

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● NYU Classes – CFAR, “Sweeping People into a Campaign for Strategic Change.” CFAR Briefing Notes (1999).

● NYU Classes – Glassman, Amanda, et al. "Political analysis of health reform in the Dominican Republic." Health policy and planning 14.2 (1999): 115-126.

● NYU Classes – Reich, Michael R. "Applied political analysis for health policy reform." Current issues in Public Health 2 (1996): 186-191.

● [Optional] NYU Classes – Varvasovszky, Zsuzsa, and Ruairí Brugha. "A stakeholder analysis." Health policy and planning 15.3 (2000): 338-345.

Class Session 4 – 2/19Deliverables:

● Stakeholder Analysis Team Presentation - Slides due 2/18 by 11:55 pm via NYU Classes

● Stakeholder Analysis Team Memo - Memo due 2/18 by 11:55 pm via NYU Classes

A. Forecasting IIIWe will recap the forecasting tools and complete an in-class cohort forecasting exercise.

B. Stakeholder Analysis MICS PresentationsTeams will present the results of their stakeholder analyses from the MICS case study.

Preparation

● MICS Platform: Family Homelessness – “An Election Primer on New York City’s Homeless Families: The Public Policies of Four Mayors, 1978-2013.” New York: ICPH, 2013. Pages 1-30 only

● MICS Platform: Advantage Evolution – Frazier, I. Hidden City. The New Yorker. 28 October 2013.

C. Policy Making in a Political ContextPolicy making is not conducted in a vacuum. Rather, it is played out in the context of disparate stakeholders with competing demands, a finite set of resources, an ever-changing landscape, a charged political environment, and a lack of certainty.

Preparation

● MICS Platform: “Going Forward – Where do we go from here?” Video

● [Optional] MICS Platform: Going Forward – Canavan, D. and S. McDonald. “Ending Family Homelessness: National Trends and Local System Responses.” National Alliance to End Homelessness. October 2012

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● [Optional] MICS Platform: Going Forward – Culhane, D., S. Metraux, and T. Byrne. “A Prevention-Centered Approach to Homelessness Assistance: A Paradigm Shift?” Housing Debate Policy. May 2011

● [Optional] MICS Platform: Homelessness Stakeholders – Shinn, M. B., Rog, D. R., & Culhane, D. P. (2005). Family homelessness: Background research findings and policy options. Departmental Papers (SPP).

● [Optional] MICS Platform: Family Homelessness – O’Flaherty, B. “Housing Subsidies and Homelessness: A Simple Idea.” SPP Research Paper No. 12-2. January 25, 2012

D. Capacity Management Lecture & DiscussionThis lecture will focus on the concepts and strategies for managing capacity and demand. There will be a discussion of potential DHS capacity management strategies and tactics that will build upon the lecture and established understanding of the DHS family homeless shelter data and system.

Preparation

● NYU Classes: E-Book: Hollins, Bill, and Sadie Shinkins. Managing service operations: Design and implementation. Sage, 2006. – Chapter 12 except Yield Management and Managing Queues sections

● NYU Classes: Sasser, W. Earl. "Match supply and demand in service industries." Harvard Business Review 54.6 (1976): 133-140.

● MICS Platform: Family Homelessness – “Tier II Homeless Shelter Capacity.” Keeping Track Online: The Status of New York City Children. Citizens Committee for Children of New York. Data Visualization. Web.

● NYU Classes – Rodak, Sabrina. “5 Proven Strategies to Improve Hospital Capacity Management” Becker’s Hospital Review, June 5, 2012.

● MICS Platform: Going Forward – Colvin, Jill. “City Spending on Homeless Shelters to Soar to $800 Million.” DNAinfo New York, March 7, 2013. Web.

● MICS Platform: Going Forward – Stevens, Harry and Greg Smith. “Thousands of New Yorkers living in dangerous 'cluster units' as homeless population tops 59,000, a record high.” New York Daily News, February 1, 2015. Web.

Class session 5 – 2/26Deliverables:

● Budgeting and Financial Tradeoffs Team Memo - Due 2/24 by 11:55 pm via NYU Classes

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A. Structured Decision-Making & Decision ModelingMost decisions involve uncertainty of some kind. In this class, we will learn how to create and use decision trees, graphic decision models that systematically incorporate uncertainty and evaluate alternatives.

Preparation

● NYU Classes – Wu, G. (1997). Decision Analysis. Harvard Business School #9-894-004, 1-14.

● NYU Classes – Kirkwood, Craig W. "Chapter 1: Decision Trees.” Decision Tree Primer. Department of Supply Chain Management, Arizona State University Tempe, AZ (2002): 85287-4706.

● NYU Classes – E-Course: Alemi, Farrokh. “Decision Trees.” Decision Analysis in Healthcare. Ed. Wojtusiak, Janusz. Fairfax: George Mason University, 29 Sept 2008. Web Course. Reading required; audio and video optional.

● [Recommended] NYU Classes – Davis, Jeff. “Decision Trees.” (Length: 10:39). Online Video. YouTube. 9 Sept 2011. Web. This is a worked example.

● [Optional] NYU Classes – “Decision Trees: Choosing by Projecting ‘Expected Outcomes.’ ” Mind Tools, Mind Tools Ltd, n.d. Web.

● [Optional] NYU Classes – Kirkwood, Craig W. "Chapter 2 Risk Aversion: 2.2 Utility Functions.” Decision Tree Primer. Department of Supply Chain Management, Arizona State University Tempe, AZ (2002): 85287-4706.

B. Negotiations Lecture This class will discuss the basics of negotiation around complex, multi-faceted issues with disparate stakeholders.

Preparation

● Book – Fisher, Roger, William L. Ury, and Bruce Patton. Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. Penguin, 2011. – Chapters 1, 6, 7 and 8

● NYU Classes – Ware, James P. “Bargaining Strategies: Collaborative versus Competitive Approaches.” HBS Product #480055-PDF-ENG. April 1, 1980.

● NYU Classes – Mehta, Kandarp. “Five Essential Strategies for Creative Negotiations” IESE Insight. Fourth Quarter, Issue 15. 2012.

● NYU Classes – Lax, David and James Sebenius. “Interests: The Measure of Negotiation” Negotiation Journal,

● January 1986.

● NYU Classes – Perkins, Anne. “Negotiations: Are Two Heads Better than One?” Harvard Business Review, November-December 1993.

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● [Optional] NYU Classes: Ertel, Danny. “Getting Past Yes: Negotiating As If Implementation Mattered.” HBS Product # R0411C-PDF-ENG. 2004.

● [Optional] Book – Fisher, Roger, William L. Ury, and Bruce Patton. Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. Penguin, 2011. Entire Book

● [Optional] NYU Classes – Rackham, Neil. “The Behavior of Successful Negotiators” from Negotiation: Reading, Exercise and Cases.

Class Session 6 – 3/5Deliverables:

● Individual Negotiation Strategy Document - Due 3/3 by 11:55 pm via NYU Classes

● Decision Modeling Individual Assignment - Due 3/4 by 11:55pm via NYU Classes

A. Decision Modeling Discussion and Systems Approach to the Homeless Shelter System

In the first portion of this class session, the class will debrief their individual assignment and discuss the application of decision modeling to policy decisions particularly around family homelessness. The second part of the session will take a systems approach to family shelter operations and planning and discuss the use of cohort analysis to understand and project the characteristics of populations.

Preparation

● MICS Platform: Family Homelessness – NYC Independent Budget Office. “The Rising Number of Homeless Families in NYC, 2002–2012: A Look at Why Families Were Granted Shelter, the Housing They Had Lived in and Where They Came From.” November 2014

● [Optional] MICS Platform: Family Homelessness – NYC Comptroller John Liu. “Down and Out: How New York City Places its Homeless Shelters” May 2013

B. Mayoral Forum: Negotiation Around NYC Family Homeless Policy Students will be assigned in groups to represent different stakeholders in the NYC Family Homeless Shelter System (e.g., providers, advocates, the City). Traditionally, the different stakeholders have not worked well together; nevertheless, the Mayor has called a forum where the stakeholders are charged to attempt to develop a series of recommendations around family homelessness in NYC.

C. Mayoral Forum DebriefThe Mayoral Forum will be discussed in terms of process, substance and results. Students will reflect on the experience as it relates to their own development as well as policy making in a highly political context.

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Class Session 7 – 3/12Deliverables:

● Final Team Presentation and Slides - Slides due 3/11 by 11:55 pm via NYU Classes

● Team Mayoral Policy Memo - Due 3/24 by 11:55pm via NYU Classes

● Final Team Peer Review – Due 3/24 by 11:55pm

A. Final Team PresentationsEach team will prepare and present a presentation for the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services outlining the current state of the NYC homeless family shelter system (as of December 2013), alternatives considered and the team’s recommendations along with supporting arguments

B. Wrap UpTime permitting, the professors will summarize the course as students reflect on their experience from both academic and experiential perspectives.

C. Guest SpeakerWe will have a guest speaker from among the stakeholders’ groups in the family homelessness system.

Henry and Lucy Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at NYUAcademic accommodations are available for students with disabilities. Please visit the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) website and click on the Reasonable Accommodations and How to Register tab or call or email CSD at (212-998-4980 or mosescsd@nyu.edu) for information. Students who are requesting academic accommodations are strongly advised to reach out to the Moses Center as early as possible in the semester for assistance.NYU’s Calendar Policy on Religious HolidaysNYU’s Calendar Policy on Religious Holidays states that members of any religious group may, without penalty, absent themselves from classes when required in compliance with their religious obligations. Please notify me in advance of religious holidays that might coincide with exams to schedule mutually acceptable alternatives.

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